1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an improved method and burner apparatus for simultaneously incinerating liquid, dry gas and wet gas streams, and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to a method and burner apparatus for simultaneously incinerating liquid, dry gas and wet gas waste streams wherein the heat generated and combustion products formed from the incineration are utilized to generate steam, produce electrical energy, produce additional products, etc.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In chemical processes, liquid and/or gas byproducts and/or vent streams are often produced which cannot be reutilized and must be disposed of. Heretofore, a common way of disposing of such byproduct and vent streams has been to incinerate the streams, particularly where the substances making up the stream are at least to some extent combustible. Flare stacks and special flare burners have been utilized, but when flare stacks are used the combustion products and heat generated by the incineration are introduced into the atmosphere and wasted. More recently, burner apparatus for incinerating such byproduct and/or vent streams have been developed which are utilized with furnaces to heat process streams, to generate steam which is in turn utilized in a process or to produce electricity or otherwise to utilize the heat generated whereby it is not wasted.
Typically, the waste streams produced in chemical processes include liquid streams, dry gas streams (gas containing little or no water vapor) and wet gas streams (gas containing or saturated with water vapor). While burner apparatus for simultaneously incinerating such liquid, dry gas and wet gas streams have been developed heretofore, such burner apparatus have included separate burner means for the various streams and have been found to be relatively inefficient and mechanically unreliable, i.e., frequent replacement of parts is required due to corrosion and/or overheating failures.
By the present invention, an improved method and burner apparatus are provided for simultaneously incinerating liquid, dry gas and wet gas streams which bring about the efficient incineration of the streams in a manner whereby the heat generated from the incineration as well as the combustion products formed can be utilized effectively. The burner apparatus has improved reliability in that less frequent maintenance due to heat and corrosion failure is required.